


how to say 'i love you'

by spacebutterfly



Category: Inazuma Eleven GO, Inazuma Eleven GO Galaxy
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-09
Updated: 2014-01-09
Packaged: 2018-01-08 02:19:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1127213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spacebutterfly/pseuds/spacebutterfly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The night before the match against Latonique Eleven, Kusaka can't sleep. It's difficult when you don't want tomorrow to come.</p>
            </blockquote>





	how to say 'i love you'

Tomorrow would be the semi-final of the Grand Celesta Galaxy tournament, and Kusaka needed as much sleep as he could get. But he wasn't getting very far. Even though the nests offered to them by the accommodating inhabitants of Latonique were as comfy as - if not comfier than - his own bed on the Galaxy Nauts, his body felt restless and his mind was as wide awake as can be. He couldn't stand lying there unmoving any more. Maybe a walk would tire him out.

Or maybe he just wanted to occupy himself with something, to try and dispel the uncomfortable thoughts plaguing his mind. With that aim, he quietly crept out of their sleeping quarters (or at least, as quietly as he could, because he wasn't the most graceful guy in the world), and meandered towards the village plaza. He had to watch his step carefully on the way, because falling off one of the platforms and into the depths below would probably be a fate he'd never return from. Luckily there were bottled fireflies to light the way - or at least they _looked_ like fireflies, but come to think of it, they probably weren't the same as the ones on Earth - and when Kusaka reached the centre of the town, he sat himself on the edge of the platform, staring down at where during the day he could have seen the gigantic winding tree trunk, but now was just pitch black. Like a black hole.

_"That's right, my life will end tomorrow. That's why tomorrow will be my final match."_

Kusaka clenched his fists. He couldn't get Banda's voice out of his head. There was nothing he could do, and it wasn't as if Banda was upset about it. It wasn't as if the inhabitants of Latonique were unhappy with their predicament. But still, Kusaka couldn't accept it. He couldn't stop thinking about it. Banda, who was so kind-hearted, who had so happily rescued them and guided them through the forest, who wanted nothing more than to play soccer freely...Banda, his friend...

He was just going to collapse and stop breathing and that would be it? His team mates would shrug their shoulders and move on like nothing happened?

Kusaka swallowed. His throat was starting to feel tight. Was he really going to cry? He was tired. Too tired to be thinking about this.

"Kusaka-kun?"

Kusaka got such a fright that he very nearly fell off the edge of his seat. He turned around to see Banda's curious red eyes peering at him through the darkness.

"It _is_ you," said the boy, and Kusaka could just about make out a smile on his face in the flicker of the firefly bottles. "I wondered who was walking around at this time of night. Can't sleep?"

Kusaka sighed. "Well, something like that, yeah."

Banda gave him a knowing look, one that said _it's about_ that, _isn't it?_ and came to sit down beside him - a little too close, maybe, but Banda didn't seem to have much of a sense of personal space. "I thought you weren't upset about it any more," he said. "Is it really that bad?"

"No!" said Kusaka sharply, making the cricket-boy jump a little. "Sorry. I mean...I get it. That's just how things are...and you're happy. It's fine, I just..." he grit his teeth. He was _not_ going to cry, not here, not now, and certainly not in front of Banda. "I guess it's just sad that...you won't be here any more." The moment the words tumbled out of his mouth he wished he hadn't said them. They sounded so childish.

"Oh," mouthed Banda, in a rare moment of speechlessness. He stared at Kusaka with watchful eyes, which Kusaka kind of wished he wouldn't. His eyes were too round, and too soft and kind, and it was too easy to get drawn into them. "But," said Banda finally, making Kusaka flinch and look away, "Aren't you glad we got to meet each other at all? Rather than worrying about what we could have done, we can just think about what we can do. Like tomorrow's match!" He smiled brightly, always joyful at the very idea of soccer.

"Yeah," said Kusaka half-heartedly. It was easy enough for Banda to say that, but he wasn't sure it made him feel much better. "I guess so--" Kusaka froze as slim fingers grazed his cheek. He glanced down to see Banda looking up at him, wearing an expression of intrigue. "B-Banda, what--"

"It's true," the boy murmured, and his soft tone set off a strange fuzzy feeling in Kusaka's chest. "I once thought, 'Human cheeks look really soft.' And they really are!" Banda laughed, poking the taller boy's cheek.

"Jeez, don't scare me," Kusaka growled, taking hold of Banda's wrist and gently tugging it away from his face. "You know, you're not supposed to touch people's faces without their permission. Or is that some kinda weird Latonique tradition you guys have?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Banda muttered, confused. "Are you angry?"

"What? No! Do I look angry?"

Banda didn't reply, but gave him a curious look, twitching his antennae. "You're nervous?"

The strange feeling flared up in Kusaka's chest again. Usually that was a sensation reserved for a particular small, bushy-haired defender. Why was he getting mixed up with it now?

"Are you nervous about the match? Is that what it is? Kusaka-kun, you're not scared of losing, are you?" Banda chuckled.

"You're completely wrong," snorted Kusaka, glad that the Latoniquians were not mind-readers. "Look, shouldn't you be sleeping?"

Banda shrugged. "Humans sleep a lot, don't they? We don't need that much. But Kusaka-kun, _you_ should be sleeping. And can I ask you something?"

Kusaka tensed. "What is it?"

"Why are you still holding my wrist?"

"Agh, shit!" Kusaka freed his grip, cheeks flushing. "I wasn't thinking..."

"It's okay," murmured Banda, completely bemused by Kusaka's outburst. "Sometimes when I'm nervous, I like to hold things to make myself feel better, too." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "If it stops you feeling bad, you can hold me. Ah, but don't hold this," he said seriously, pointing to one of his long white antennae, "Because they're really sensitive."

Kusaka was slightly lost. "They're...sensitive?" Banda nodded.

"It feels weird, so don't touch them. But anywhere else is okay."

"I, uh...I think I'm all right," Kusaka muttered, glancing at Banda's open hands out of the corner of his eye. Banda was not exactly the person that Kusaka ever expected to hold hands with under a starlit sky...

Although, the idea wasn't exactly unappealing. Which was weird in itself. Too weird.

"Human hair is so interesting," said Banda, blissfully unaware of Kusaka's inner turmoil. "It's like string. Doesn't it get caught in the tree branches?"

"Well, uh, sometimes," said Kusaka, remembering a few painful memories from his childhood. "I guess my hair is worse for that than most people's, though."

"I like it," said Banda brightly, looking as if he really wanted to reach out and touch it, but holding himself back. "It's sooo fluffy, it's like a cloud. Like a muddy cloud."

"Thanks, I guess?"

"But I don't understand," Banda continued, "You don't have antennae, so how do you feel... _things_?"

"Things?" repeated Kusaka, frowning. "Uh...what kind of things?"

"Things," said Banda, waving his hands around vaguely. "Like if someone walks up behind you and you feel them there without seeing them...or how you can tell what I'm saying to you right now...things."

"Uh. I would hear it with my ears, I guess?" Kusaka replied, suddenly inexplicably dubious of his own knowledge of the human body.

"Ears..." repeated Banda, as if this was intriguing information. He frowned. "But...Kusaka-kun...you don't have ears...do you?"

"What?!" Kusaka spluttered, feeling affronted. "I have ears! Look!" He pulled back his curly hair to show Banda the proof. The boy looked astounded.

"You _do_ have ears!" he gasped. "They were hidden! Why were they hidden?"

"It's not like it's on purpose!" said Kusaka, letting his hair fall back into place. "My hair just grows like that!"

"How strange...Kusaka-kun with ears...That's hard to take in..."

"It's not that amazing!" Kusaka said hotly.

"So Morimura-san also has ears?" said Banda, fascinated.

"Obviously!"

"Wow..."

"Seriously, you're unbelievable." Kusaka shook his head, barely able to hide his smirk. And yet Banda still seemed to pick up on it.

"Do you feel better?" he asked, beaming.

Kusaka shrugged, meeting his gaze with a small smile. "Yeah, I guess."

"Hooray!" Banda said. "Then you should sleep now. You need lots of sleep so that we can both fight at full power tomorrow!" He punched the air for emphasis.

"Yeah," said Kusaka quietly, his eyes lingering on the boy's cheerful face. "In a minute."

"Hmmm?"

Kusaka dug his fingers into his elbows. Why did Banda make him feel so weird? He'd been overwhelmed by his personality from the moment they'd first met, but he hadn't realised just how attached he'd gotten to his happy face and his laugh and his excitable way of being. It wasn't like him to warm to people so fast, so why did it have to happen now, and in this situation? It just made everything more difficult...

"Kusaka-kun, don't make that sad face."

"I'm not sad!" said Kusaka quickly, taken off-guard. "I just...I can't not care about stuff like this. I can't help it." He sighed. "But I'm not sad."

"You're not?" Banda's eyes were wide and somewhat disbelieving.

"I'm not," Kusaka insisted, meeting the boy's gaze again. He made a thoughtful humming noise.

“Maybe you're not sad, but you seem strange...”

Kusaka frowned. “Strange how?”

“I'm not sure how to explain it in a way you'll understand, Kusaka-kun, but...you have a strange...scent.”

“Thanks a lot,” deadpanned Kusaka.

“What? It's not something bad!” the boy sighed. “Mmmm, how do I say this? It's like...it's kind of like...” He crosses his arms and tilts his head to the side thoughtfully. “Kusaka-kun, are you in love?”

Kusaka felt as if he'd been kicked in the gut. “No! What? No!! Well, maybe,” he added as an afterthought, realising that Banda could well be referring to Morimura. _If_ he was referring to anyone at all.

“Ah...” said Banda, frowning. “Then I really don't know...” He hunches his shoulders in deep thought. “Maybe, maybe...maybe it's just because you're so full of love all the time, Kusaka-kun.”

Kusaka paused. Was he really that kind of person? “Do you...really think so?”

Banda blinked at him. “Think what?”

“I mean, that I'm a loving person!” Kusaka spluttered. “Is that true?”

The boy stared at him for several long moments. Then he gave a smile and shrug. “Well, I don't really know!”

Kusaka gritted his teeth. It was almost as if he was speaking to someone from another planet...

What must have been a few minutes rolled by, and Kusaka was surprised that Banda simply sat there quietly without striking up another conversation – or getting bored and leaving. He was glad for the latter, of course. He couldn't shake the awful feeling that if Banda got up and walked away now, it _could_ be the last time he'd ever see him...

“Kusaka-kun,” said Banda. Kusaka flinched.

“What?”

“When humans love each other, what do they do?” He wasn't looking Kusaka in the eye when he said it – he was staring somewhere into the forest in the distance. Kusaka briefly wondered if Latoniquians had better sight than humans did.

“Um,” Kusaka stuttered. “They – I mean, we – um...we do a lot of things. Like...uh...hug?” he finished lamely.

“That's interesting,” said Banda, and Kusaka could only assume he wasn't being facetious.

“What do you guys do?”

Banda gave another of his thoughtful hums. “We sing, and dance, and give each other gifts...lots of things!”

“Ah,” Kusaka smiled. “Humans are...we're the same.”

“Oh? We do some other things too.” Banda grinned. “I wonder if it's the same for humans?”

“...Like what?”

The boy put a hand to his mouth and snickered mischievously. “I can't tell you _that!_ ”

“What?!”

Banda just shook his head. “Kusaka-kun, you should sleep. It's too late now.”

“I guess,” he murmured, not liking the way his friend phrased that at all.

“It's okay, because you're not sad or anything, right?”

“Right.” Kusaka was staring back down at the black hole beneath them. He was so determined not to look Banda in the eye that he got a huge shock when he felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around his neck.

Banda himself wasn't warm, exactly, but the feeling of his body pressed close to Kusaka's ignited a tingling warmth somewhere in his own chest. It might have felt even better if his eyes weren't starting to water before he'd even processed why.

“So this is how humans say 'I love you', right?” Banda's soft voice was in his ear. “Kusaka-kun, tomorrow let's both do our best.”

If there was anything that Kusaka could have possibly said in return, it was lost in a choked sob, the beginning of so many that he'd tried so hard to suppress. He could bearly hear Banda's sudden shock and words of concern – all he could do was wrap his arms around the boy's skinny body and bury his face in his shoulder and cry. And cry. And cry.

Yes, he was sad. He didn't want to let go, not ever.

But the two of them had a promise. And Kusaka would never go back on a promise, so he'd definitely make Banda's last match the best it could be.

But for now, he just wanted a few more minutes, just a little more time to hold Banda close and feel his racing heart like he never would again.

**Author's Note:**

> Maybe it bears mentioning that I wrote this fic based on when I played through Latonique in the game, since the anime still hadn't reached it yet. If I had written it after watching the anime episodes, I probably would have included something about Kusaka's injury...(that didn't happen in the game). Oh well!!


End file.
